to melt

Examples

• All

• The ice is melting.

  Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

• The recyclables collected on the island are melted and then shaped in molds by skilled residents.

  Academic text (1999)

• Every building in the new city is built from just melted glass.

  Elemental (2023)

• In the spring, the snow generally melts before the soil begins to thaw.

  Academic text (1994)

• Coyote wishes for an early spring; it comes and melts the snow and brings rain unseasonably early.

  Academic text (1992)

• At room temperature, the cheese is soft like butter; when melted, it is wonderfully stringy.

  Fiction book (1990)

• At the end of the Ordovician, the glacial icecaps melted and sea level rose.

  Academic text (1992)

• To make the chocolate fondue, you need to melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.

• The sun began to melt the snow on the road, making it slippery.

• As the ice cream sits out, it will melt and become a puddle of deliciousness.

Synonyms

T

to thaw

vsto melt

65 1.1

To become soft and melt after being frozen or make something melt

is the general heat caused solid to liquid change, not only from freezing

F

to fuse

vsto melt

23 4.2

To melt and join things together using heat

is the plain state change without the specific joining purpose

L

to liquefy

vsto melt

• Specialized

18 4.4

To change a solid or gas into a liquid, often by heating

is the general solid to liquid change usually caused by heating

M

to melt down

vsto melt

12 3.0

Make a solid become liquid by heating it

is the ordinary process of a solid becoming liquid by heating

U

to unfreeze

vsto melt

2 3.5

Make something that is frozen become soft or liquid

is the broad solid to liquid change regardless of prior freezing

L

to liquify

vsto melt

4.5

Make a solid melt so it can flow

is the broad change of solid to liquid usually by heating

L

to liquidize

vsto melt

• US

4.2

To make something into a liquid by heating or blending

is the basic heat caused solid to liquid change, not blending specific

L

to liquate

vsto melt

• Specialized

9.5

To become liquid because of heat

describes the general transition from solid to liquid by heating

F

to flux

vsto melt

• Specialized

9.5

To become liquid when heated

is the everyday solid to liquid change not limited to technical use

D

to dethaw

vsto melt

• US

6.6

To make something frozen become soft or liquid by warming

is the general change of solid to liquid usually by heating

U

to unthaw

vsto melt

• Informal

7.2

To make something frozen melt by warming it

is the general solid to liquid change and is not labeled nonstandard

Antonyms

F

to freeze

770 1.0

Become solid because of cold, like water turning to ice

Idioms

M

melt in the mouth

1 3.6

So soft and tender that it disappears when you eat it

B

butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth

• UK

9.9

Seems very innocent and quiet but is not really kind

Phrasal Verbs

M

to melt down

12 6.9

Lose control emotionally or fail completely because it gets too hot

M

to melt down

12 3.0

Make a solid become liquid by heating it

M

to melt off

• Informal

1 4.1

To lose extra body weight slowly until it goes away

Compounds

I

ice melt

• Specialized

2 3.5

Ice changing into water in large areas like glaciers and sea ice

I

ice melt

• UK

1 3.4

A salt or liquid used to make ice become water on roads and sidewalks

How Liquid

to liquefy

• Specialized

18 4.4

to melt

362 1.0

to thaw

65 1.1

to soften

55 1.3

Surface Forms

Etymology